Apollo's Broken Child
by MadiRoseFangirl
Summary: Daytime's daughter, Snow's curse shall reap; Death by promises Fire cannot keep; The Broken Child stands strong at last; Unhindered by the pain of her past; When all else fails, her light will glow; Her triumph, none else shall know. Better summary inside the book. It wouldn't fit here. Warnings: May mention abuse and suicidal thoughts and actions.
1. Chapter 1

**Here is your summary**

Daytime's daughter, Snow's curse shall reap  
Death by promises Fire cannot keep  
The broken child stands strong at last  
Unhindered by the pain of her past  
When all else fails, her light will glow  
Her triumph, none else shall know

Alissa's past has made her shy and hesitant to fight. Can she break free of her mental chains and step out of her comfort zone? She has been chosen for a quest—and not just any quest— the quest of seven has turned into the quest of eight. Alissa must travel the world with a group of demigods she barely knows or the world will end. One demigod in particular interests her: Leo Valdez. Despite his cheerful personality, she can see how much pain he is hiding, she knows because she is hiding pain too.

 **AN: This is my first time writing HOO fanfiction, or really, any fanfiction besides Harry Potter. Wish me luck! I would've gone further but I need the book to do that, this is only as far as I can read for free online. Don't worry, I'll check the book out of the Library and write a new chapter soon. Perhaps your reviews will persuade me to do it faster...? Anyway...** **Let's have** **our favorite half-blood give you the disclaimer...**

 **Leo: Why can't you do it? You have fingers to type.**

 **Me: Leoooo! It's more fun if you do it! Everybody Luvs da Leo!**

 **Leo: Fine, the mcshizzle man will do it!** **MadiRosefangirl does not own The HOO universe or any recognizable characters, though she wishes she would own bad boy supreme—**

 **Me: Leo!**

 **Leo: Fine! Anyway. Everything you recognize belongs to Rick Troll Riordan and not her!**

 **Me: Thank you, Leo!**

 **Sorry for the long authors note, enjoy the story!**

Alissa has had a normal enough life… for a demigod, that is. She is a child of Apollo—cabin 7— and thirteen years old. Her hair is honey blonde with hints of auburn and her eyes are piercing blue. Freckles cover her nose and cheeks and her skin is tanned from the sun. _Maybe today I can eat my lunch in peace_ , she thought as she sat down in the dining pavilion. Yesterday's lunch had been eventful. As she sat down, a bomb had gone off in Hephaestus cabin again. Everyone had rushed to see if anyone was injured—they weren't. But of course, it wouldn't be camp Half-blood if everything went as planned. Just after she had taken her seat, a flying chariot crashed into the lake. Alissa rushed outside to see what happened. Butch stands in the lake, cutting the wrecked harnesses off the pegasi. Fortunately, the horses looked okay, but they were flapping their wings and splashing water everywhere. Annabeth stood on the shore with two boys. One short latino with curly black hair and brown eyes, and one taller boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. Campers stood around them, handing out blankets and asking questions. Another kid was still in the lake. She had brown hair and oddly colored eyes that seemed to change as Alissa looked at them. She obviously had indian heritage. One camper pulled the girl out of the lake by the arms and helped her stand.

My half brother, Will, pushed through the crowd. "Annabeth! I said you could _borrow_ the chariot, not destroy it!" Will's bow and arrows were on his back, like always.

"Will, I'm sorry," Annabeth sighed. "I'll get it fixed, I promise."

Will scowled at his broken chariot. He looked at the new kids, seizing them up. "These are the ones? Way older than thirteen. Why haven't they been claimed already?"

"Claimed?" The latino boy asked. He reminded Alissa of a latino santa's elf. She smiled at him slightly.

Before Annabeth could explain, Will said, "Any sign of Percy?

"No," Annabeth admitted. Alissa's fellow campers muttered. Percy had been gone while now and Alissa was starting to get really worried.

Drew stepped forward. She glanced at the latino, fixed her eyes on the blonde like he might be worthy of her attention, then curled her lip at the brown haired girl as if she were a week-old burrito that had just been pulled out of a dumpster. Alissa glared at Drew.

"Well," Drew said, "I hope they're worth the trouble."

The latino snorted. "Gee, thanks. What are we, your new pets?" Alissa snickers, loving this kid.

"No kidding," the blonde said. "How about some answers before you stand judging us—like, what is this place, why are we here, how long do we have to stay?" Have to stay? Camp Half-blood is the only safe place for people like them. His best bet is here.

"Jason," Annabeth said. That must be the blonde's name. "I promise we'll answer your questions. And Drew"—she frowned at the glamour girl—"all demigods are worth saving. But I'll admit, the trip didn't accomplish what I hoped."

"Hey," the Indian girl said, "we didn't ask to be brought here."

Drew sniffed. "And nobody _wants_ you, hon. Does your hair always look like a dead badger?" Alissa growled quietly. Bullying is _not_ cool.

The girl stepped forward, ready to smack Drew, but Annabeth said, "Piper, stop." _Piper_ , Alissa duly noted. Piper did stop, unfortunately.

"We need to make our new arrivals feel welcome," Annabeth said, with another pointed look at Drew. "We'll assign the each a guide, give them a tour of camp. Hopefully by the campfire tonight, they'll be claimed."

"Would somebody tell me what _claimed_ means?" Piper asked.

Suddenly there was a collective gasp. Alissa and the rest of the campers backed away. Floating over the latino's head was a blazing holographic image—a fiery hammer.

"That," Annabeth said, "is claiming."

"What'd I do?" the boy backed toward the lake. Then he glanced up and yelped. "Is my hair on fire?" He ducked, but the symbol follow him bobbing and weaving so it looked like he was trying to write something in flames with his head.

"This can't be good," Butch muttered. "The curse—"

"Butch, shut up," Annabeth said. "Leo, you've just been claimed—"

"By a god," Jason interrupted. "That's the symbol of Vulcan, isn't it?"

Alissa jaw dropped and all eyes turned to Jason.

"Jason," Annabeth said carefully, "how did you know that?"

"I'm not sure."

"Vulcan?" Leo demanded. "I don't even LIKE _Star Trek_. What are you talking about?" Alissa snorted loudly and Leo met her eyes for a second. She flinched, hating anyone's attention being on her.

"Vulcan is the Roman name for Hephaestus," Annabeth said, "the god of blacksmiths and fire."

The fiery hammer faded, but Leo kept swatting the air like he was afraid it was following him. "The god of what? Who?"

Annabeth turned to Will. "Will, would you take Leo, give him a tour? Introduce him to his bunkmates in Cabin Nine." Odd choice. Why not get a Hephaestus kid to do it?

"Sure, Annabeth."

"What's Cabin Nine?" Leo asked. "And I'm not a Vulcan!"

"Come on, Mr. Spock, I'll explain everything." Will put a hand on Leo's shoulder and steered him off toward the cabins. Alissa followed and caught up with her half brother and Spock.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much for reviewing! I wrote a slightly longer chapter this time because you deserve it *air kisses* Some of the things that happened in Alissa's life are made up, other's are true, unfortunately. I hope you enjoy this chapter and think it good enough to warrant a review :) Here's your disclaimer...**

 **Leo: Not again!**

 **Me: Oh come on, Leo, one more time?**

 **Leo: But I did it last time**

 **Me: Pwetty pwease *puppy dog eyes***

 **Leo: Fine**

 **Me: Yay!**

 **Leo: MadiRoseFangirl does not own the recognizable characters or this world. Even the plot mostly follows the book. She doesn't even own the laptop she writes with—**

 **Me: LEO! You promised you wouldn't tell**

 **Leo: Sorry!**

 **Okay okay, you can read the story now...**

An expression of awe covered Leo's face as Will and Alissa showed Leo all the cool things about camp. Greek warships moored at the beach that sometimes had practice fights with flaming arrows and explosives, arts and crafts sessions where you could make sculptures with chainsaws and blowtorches, and the monster filled woods. They showed him the cabins, the dining pavilion, and the sword arena.

"Do I get a sword?" Leo asked.

Will glanced at Leo like he found the idea disturbing. "You'll probably make your own, seeing as how you're in Cabin Nine."

"Yeah, what's up with that? Vulcan?"

"Usually we don't call the gods by their Roman names," Alissa said. "The original names are Greek. Your dad is Hephaestus."

"Festus?" Leo looked dismayed at that. "Sounds like the god of cowboys."

Will looked like he wanted to facepalm. "He-phaestus," he corrected. "God of blacksmiths and fire."

"So the flaming hammer over my head," Leo said. "Good thing, or bad thing?"

Alissa glanced at Will nervously, waiting for him to answer Leo. Please don't make me answer, she pleaded silently.

Will took a while to answer. "You were claimed almost immediately. That's usually good." Hence usually.

"Ah… look, it's nothing. Since Cabin Nine's last head counselor died—"

"Died? Like, painfully?"

"I ought to let your bunkmates tell you about it," Will said. Great way to put him off of questions you don't like. The curse wasn't nothing at all, Cabin Nine has had the worst luck ever since Beckendorf died.

"Yeah, where are my home dawgs? Shouldn't their counselor be giving me the VIP tour?"

"He, um, can't. You'll see why." Will forged ahead before Leo could ask anything else. Alissa stayed behind with Leo.

"Curses and dead," Leo said to himself, though Alissa could hear. "This just gets better and better."

"Camp isn't all bad," Alissa promised. "Wait till you see the lava rock wall, it rocks." Leo grinned at her joke.

"Glad to see some humor at this camp," he said. Alissa smiled shyly.

"I don't normally let people hear my jokes," she said. Wait a minute, that sounds like flirting. Dangit, Alissa curses. "You know," she tried to amend, "Cause I don't like talking to people. Not cause…" she trailed off. Leo's grin widened.

They were halfway across the green when froze in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Will and I asked at the same time.

"That old lady…" Leo said. "What's she doing here?" Alissa squinted her eyes in the direction he was staring, not seeing anything.

Will tried to follow his gaze. "What old lady?"

"Dude, the old lady. The one in black. How many old ladies do you see over there?"

Will frowned. "I think you've had a long day, Leo. The mist could still be playing tricks on your mind. How about we head straight to your cabin now?" Alissa nodded her head in agreement.

"Just messing with you, man." Leo pulled some gears and levers from his pockets and started fiddling with them. Alissa frowned. She could tell he was lying so they wouldn't think he was crazy.

"Let's go see Cabin Nine," he said. "I'm in the mood for a good curse."

Leo whistled as they approached the cabin. From the outside, the Hephaestus cabin looked like an oversized RV with shiny metal walls and metal-slatted windows. The entrance was like a bank vault door, circular and several feet thick. It opened with lots of brass gears turning and hydraulic pistons blowing smoke.

"They got a steampunk theme going on, huh?" he said. Alissa had never seen the inside of Hephaestus cabin before, she really did feel like she was on a VIP tour as soon as they stepped inside.

Inside, the cabin seemed deserted. Steel bunks were folded against the walls like high-tech Murphy beds. Each had a digital control panel, blinking LED lights, flowing gems, and interlocking gears. A fire pole fame down from the second floor, even though the cabin didn't appear to have a second floor from the outside. A circular staircase led down into some kind of basement. The walls were lined with multiple kinds of power tools—Alissa could not name most of them—plus a huge assortment of knives, swords, and other implements of destruction. A large workbench overflowed with scrap metal—screws, bolts, washers, nails, rivets, and a million other machine parts.

Leo picked a long implement from the wall. "A week wacker? What's the god of fire want with a weed whacker?"

A voice in the shadows said, "You'd be surprised." Alissa jumped and flinched away from the unexpected voice. She sighed silently in relief when no one seemed to notice.

At the back of the room, one of the bunk beds was occupied. A curtain of dark camouflage retracted and Alissa could see the guy who'd been invisible a second earlier. The guy was covered in a body cast. His head was wrapped in gauze except for his face, which was puffy and bruised. He looked like the Pillsbury Doughboy after a beat-down

"I Jake Mason," he said. "I'd shake your hand, but…"

"Yeah," Leo said. "Don't get up."

Jake cracked a smile, then winced like it hurt to move his face. Alissa could tell that Leo wanted to ask what happened, but he didn't

"Welcome to Cabin Nine," Jake said. "Been almost a year since we had any new kids. I'm head counselor for now."

"For now?" Leo asked.

Will cleared his throat. "So where is everybody, Jake?"

"Down at the forges," Jake said wistfully. Alissa didn't know Jake very well, but it was obvious he wanted to be there with them. "They're working on… you know, that problem."

"Oh," Will changed the subject. "So, you got a spare bed for Leo?"

Jake studied Leo, seizing him up. "You believe in curses Leo? Or ghosts?" Alissa knew she did, she couldn't even stay in the dark alone without freaking out.

"Ghosts? Pfft. Nah. I'm cool. A stor spirit chucked me down the Grand Canyon this morning, but you know, all in a day's work, right?" Alissa's eyes widened. The Grand Canyon? Jeez.

Jake nodded. "That's good. Because I'll give you the best bed in the cabin—Beckendorf's."

Alissa gasped quietly. "Whoa, Jake," she said. "You sure?"

Jake called out: "Bunk 1-A, please."

The whole cabin rumbled. A circular section of the floor spiraled open like a camera lens, and a full-size bed popped up. The bronze frame had a built-in game station at the footboard, a stereo system in the headboard, a glass-door refrigerator mounted into the base, and a whole bunch of control panels running down the side.

Leo jumped right in and lay back with arms behind his head. "I can handle this." Alissa giggled.

"It retracts into a private room below," Jake said. Alissa's mouth fell open.

"Oh, heck, yes," Leo said. "See y'all. I'll be down in the Leo Cave. Which button do I press?"

"Hold on," Will Solace protested. "You guys have private underground rooms?"

Jake probably would've smiled if it didn't hurt so much. "We got lots of secrets, Will. You apollo guys can't have all the fun. Our campers have been excavating the tunnel system under Cabin Nine for almost a century. We still haven't found the end. Anyway, Leo, if you don't mind sleeping in a dead man's bed, it's yours."

Leo's expression changed. He sat up, careful not to touch any of the buttons. "The counselor who died—this was his bed?"

"Yeah," Jake said. "Charles Beckendorf." The name hurt Alissa emotionally; he had been a good friend to her.

"He didn't, like, die in this ed, did he?" Leo asked uncertainly.

"No," Jake said. "In the Titan War, last summer." Alissa shuddered to remember the war, it still haunted her and would continue to do so for a long time.

"The Titan War," Leo repeated, "which has nothing to do with this very fine bed?"

Alissa facepalmed.

"The Titans," Will said, like Leo was an idiot. "The big powerful guys that ruled the world before the gods. They tried to make a comeback last summer. Their leader, Kronson, built a new palace on top of Mount Tam in California. Their armies came to New York and almost destroyed Mount Olympus. A lot of demigods died trying to stop them."

Alissa shuddered and felt like crying as Will mentioned California. He glanced at her as he said it as if to check if she was okay. She wasn't. California is where her half brother (on her mother's side) lived. He had moved away to live with his dad when he was around two or three years old. Alissa was only a year old. She had gotten in touch with him two summers ago and he turned out really cool… until recently. Something happened to turn him into a jerk and he blocked her number. Will moved to put a hand on her shoulder as nonchalantly as he could. She flinched ever so slightly under his touch.

"I'm guessing this wasn't on the news?" Leo said in response to Will's story.

Will shook his head in disbelief. "You didn't hear about Mount St. Helens erupting, or the freak storms across the country, or that building collapsing in St. Louis?"

Leo shrugged. "Guess I was busy."

"Doesn't matter," Jake said. "You were lucky to miss it. The thing is, Beckendorf was one of the first casualties, and ever since then—"

"Your cabins been cursed," Leo guessed.

Jake didn't answer but it was obvious Leo was correct. Jake was in a body cast, there was an explosion mark on the wall, a stain on the floor that might've been oil… or blood. Broken swords and smashed machines kicked into the corners of the room, maybe out of frustration. The place did feel unlucky.

 **AN: Sorry to bother you again. Would you like to vote on who should give the disclaimer next? Just tell me who you'd like to hear from! Though if the person is only in Blood of Olympus, I may not know who it is... Anyway. If you would like a character of yours to cameo in my story just submit a full name and description. Including personality and looks. Thank you for reading, please review**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Here's a really long chapter for you. My treat to my wonderful readers. Seriously though... no comments? Wow, that's harsh. Because of that, you don't get a fun disclaimer!**

 **I DON'T OWN MOST OF THE CHARACTERS OF THE PLOT, OKAY? RICK DOES! NOT ME!**

 **Okay, enjoy...**

Jake sighed halfheartedly. "Well, I should get some sleep. I hope you like it here, Leo. It used to be… really nice." He closed his eyes and the camouflage curtain drew itself across the bed.

"Come on, Leo," Will said. "I'll take you to the forges." Alissa followed Will out the door, excited to see the forges. She saw Leo glance back at his new bed anxiously. Alissa was pretty sure he did believe in ghosts but didn't want to say anything.

"How did he die?" Leo asked. "I mean Beckendorf."

"Explosion," Alissa said. She tried to go on but couldn't.

"Beckendorf and Percy Jackson blew up a cruise ship full of monsters. Beckendorf didn't make it out," Will finished for her.

"Charles was too young to die. So was everyone else that died for the war: Silena, Luke…" she trailed off and fell silent.

"So Beckendorf was pretty popular?" Leo asked. "I mean—before he blew up?"

Alissa let out a sob. "He was awesome," she agreed.

Will said, "It was hard on the whole camp when he died. Jake—he became head counselor in the middle of the war. Same as I did, actually. Jake did his best, but he never wanted to be leader. He just likes building stuff. Then after the war, things started to go wrong. Cabin Nine's chariots blew up. Their automatons went haywire. Their inventions started to malfunction. It was like a curse, and eventually people started calling it that—the curse of Cabin Nine. Then Jake had his accident—"

"Which had something to do with the problem he mentioned," Leo guessed. _Oh, that problem_ , Alissa thought to herself.

"They're working on it," Will said without enthusiasm. "And here we are."

The forge looked like a steam-powered locomotive had smashed into the Greek Parthenon and they had fused together. White marble columns lined the soot stained walls. Chimneys pumped smoke over an elaborate gable carved with a bunch of gods and monsters. The building sat at the edge of the stream, with several water wheels turning a series of bronze gears. Alissa heard machinery grinding inside, fires roaring, and hammers ringing on anvils.

They stepped through the doorway, and a dozen guys and girls who'd been working on various projects all froze. The noise died down to the roar of the forge and the click-click-click of gears and levers.

"Sup, guys," Will said. "This is your new brother, Leo—um, what's your last name?"

"Valdez," Leo said as he looked around at the other campers. Alissa caught herself staring at him and looked instead at her half brother.

The Hephaestus kids starting shaking hands and introducing themselves to Leo. Leo looked overwhelmed as they told him their names: Shane, Christopher, Nyssa, Harley.

"Well, all right!" Leo said. "I hear this is the party cabin!" Alissa facepalmed internally. Nobody laughed. They all just stared at Leo.

Will Solace patted Leo's shoulder. "I'll leave you guys to get acquainted. Somebody show Leo to dinner when it's time?"

"I got it," Nyssa said. Nyssa wore camo pants, a tank top that showed off her buff arms, and a red bandanna over a mop of dark hair. Except for the smiley-face Band-Aid on her chin, she looked like one of those female action heroes, like any second she was going to grab a machine gun and start mowing down evil aliens.

"Cool," Leo said. "I always wanted a sister who could beat me up."

"Nyssa didn't smile. "Come on, joker boy. I'll show you around."

"Let's go, Ali," Will said, using Alissa's nickname.

Alissa followed Will out of the forge and into the bright sunlight. Her stomach growled, reminding her of her forgotten lunch. She decided to ignore the hunger and wait till dinner. She made her way to the rock wall for a practice climb. Alissa began making her way up, quick yet smooth, she glided up the wall, avoiding waterfalls of lava and sharp spikes. A drop of lava fell on her arm, causing a drop of searing pain. She gritted her teeth and kep moving, making it to the top of the wall relatively quick. Once she reached the top, she sat down to think. The sun was starting to sink below the horizon.

She didn't know what to make of the new campers; they seemed fine, but she wasn't really a people person. Being noticed by people never got her anywhere except in trouble.

A conch horn blew in the distance, signalling dinner. Alissa sighed and began making her way down the rock wall. She faltered on the way down, a feeling of deep dread filling her stomach. _Something is happening, something important._ As a child of Apollo, she had been born with a special gift, a rare gift. She couldn't exactly tell prophesies, but she _knew_ them, and she could tell when something big was going on around her. She shook her head and jumped when she was close enough to the ground. Alissa made her way to the dining pavilion and sat with her brothers and sisters. She glanced around to see if the new kids were there. They were nowhere to be seen. _It must have something to do with the feeling_. Alissa had no doubt that the new kids were going to take place in a prophesy, none at all. The problem was: this feeling was only ever this strong if it had something to do with her, and she wanted no part in a quest.

After dinner, she went to the campfire. It was only then that she finally saw the new kids again. Jason sat in the front next to Annabeth. Leo was nearby, sitting with a bunch of burly-looking campers under a steel gray banner emblazoned with a hammer. Piper was looking around for her friends.

"Alissa!" one of her half sisters ran up to her and grabbed her hand. "Come on, it's time to lead in campfire songs!" It was her friend/sister, May. She let May drag her to the rest of her siblings. She handed Alissa a lyre and started dancing around. They were singing a song about pieces of armor, something about how their grandma got dressed for war. Everybody was singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor and joking around. Alissa joined in the song, strumming on her lyre. She met Leo's eye and stuck her tongue out at him in response to his funny expression. The whole campfire would've been completely embarrassing in daylight; but in the dark, with everybody participating, it was kind of corny and fun. As the energy level got higher, the flames did too, turning from red to orange to gold.

Finally the song ended with a lot of rowdy applause and Alissa sat down. Chiron trotted up, brandishing a spear impaled with toaster marshmallows. "Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities direction, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of you limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first—"

"What about capture the flag?" Somebody yelled. Grumbling broke out among the Ares kids.

"Yes," Chiron said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."

"And kill people!" one of them shouted.

"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"

He turned to Leo's group. Alissa noticed Leo wink at someone and shoot them with a finger gun. Nyssa stood next to him, looking uncomfortable. "We're working on it."

More grumbling.

"How, Nyssa?" and Ares kid demanded.

"Really hard," she said.

Nyssa sat down to a lot of yelling and complaining, which caused the fire to sputter chaotically. Chiron stamped his hoof against the fire pit stones—bang, bang, bang—and the campers fell silent.

"We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

"Percy?" someone asked. The fire dimmed even further, but Alissa didn't need the mood flames to sense the crowd's anxiety.

Chiron gestured to Annabeth. She took a deep breath and stood.

"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis—everyone's out looking. We will find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest." _Dang,_ Alissa thought, _why do I always have to be right?_

"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.

Everyone turned. The voice had come from a group in the back, sitting under a rose-colored banner with a dove emblem, Aphrodite. They'd been chatting amongst themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.

Alissa's mouth fell open. Drew never addressed the crowd.

"Drew," Annabeth said. "What do you mean?"

"Well, come on." Drew spread her hand like the trust was obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"

Alissa glanced at Rachel and realized that so had everyone else.

"Well?" Drew called down. "You're the oracle. Has it started or not?"

Rachel's eyes looked scary in the firelight. She stepped forward calmly and addressed the camp.

"Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy has begun."

Pandemonium broke out. Alissa pressed her hands over her ears, trying to block out the world. _Too loud. Too many people._ May placed her hand on Alissa's arm but she shrunk away from the touch. _Not now when there's so many people talking all at once. Can't handle it_.

"Are you okay? Ali?" Alissa heard her voice but couldn't concentrate on the words. She was beginning to feel claustrophobic. Luckily the talking finally subsided. Rachel took another step toward the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redheaded mortal was more intimidating than all of them put together. Alissa did not join them.

"For those of you who have not heard it," Rachel said, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:

"Eight half-bloods shall answer the ball.

To storm of fire the world must fall—"

Jason shot to his feel. His eyes looked wild, like he'd just been tasered.

Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. "J-Jason?" she said. "What's—"

"Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," he chanted. "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem." Alissa understood the latin. He had just finished the prophecy.

An uneasy silence settled on the group. Alissa could see from their faces that several of them were trying to translate the lines.

"You just...finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered. "—an oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. How did you—"

"I know those lines." Jason winced and put his hands to his temples. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."

"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome and smart." Alissa rolled her eyes at Drew.

There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin but it didn't do much to break the tension. The campfire was burning a chaotic, nervous shade of green.

Jason sat down, looking embarrassed, but Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder and mutter something reassuring.

Rachel still looked a little shaken. She looked back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a pay he couldn't interrupt—a tragedy that ended with a lot of people dead onstage.

"Well," Rachel said, trying to regain her composure. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The seven demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here." Alissa knew she was right. She had the same feeling. Problem is… she had the sickening feeling that she is one of them.

The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd called out, "I'm here! Oh… were you calling roll?"

"Go back to sleep, Clovis," someone yelled, and a lot of people laughed.

"Anyway," Rachel continued," We don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."

"Or worse," Chiron murmured.

Maybe he didn't mean everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple.

"What we do know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we will need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."

Shocked silence. Then fifty demigod started talking at once. Alissa buried her head in her arms; May didn't attempt to console her this time. She could feel someone's eyes on her. She glanced up and saw Leo staring at her with concern in his normally cheerful eyes. As soon as he met her eyes, though, he plastered a grin to his face.

Chiron pounded his hoof again, but Rachel still had to wait before she could get back their attention.

She told the about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk—how Gleeson Hedge had sacrificed himself when the storm spirits attacked, and the spirits had warning it was only the beginning. They apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigod. Alissa listen with interest to the story.

Then Rachel told them about Piper passing out in Hera's cabin. Finally, Rachel told them about Jason's vision in the living room of the Big House.

"Jason," Rachel said. "Um… do you remember your last name?"

He looked self-conscious, but he shook his head.

"We'll just call you Jason, then," Rachel said. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."

Rachel paused, as if giving Jason a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone's eyes were on him; there was so much pressure, Alissa knew she would've buckles in his position. Yet he looked brace and determined. He set his jaw and nodded. "I agree."

"You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," Rachel continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."

"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said. "If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."

"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, "is also the time of great darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things… stir."

The way he said it, stirring sounded absolutely sinister—like it should be a first-degree felony, not something you did to cookie dough.

"Okay," Annabeth said, glaring at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so—"

"Why hasn't he been claimed?" somebody yelled from Ares cabin. "If he's so important—"

"He has been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration."

At first, Jason didn't seem to understand. He stepped forward nervously.

Jason reached into his pocket. A coin flashed in the air, ad when he caught it in his hand, he was holding a lance—a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end.

Alissa and the several other demigods gasped.

"Wasn't that…" Annabeth hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."

"Um, it came up tails, I think," Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."

"Dude, I want one!" yelled somebody from Ares cabin.

"Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" one of his brothers agreed.

"Electric," Jason murmured, like that was a good idea. "Back away."

Annabeth and Rachel got the message. Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Every hair on Alissa's arms stood straight up. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell.

When the smoke cleared, and the ringing in Alissa's ear subsided, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been. Cinders rained down everywhere. A burning log had impaled itself a few inches from the sleeping kid, Clovis, who hadn't even stirred.

Jason lowered his lance. "Um… sorry."

Chiron brushed some burning coals out of his beard. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."

"Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean Zeus. Lord of the Sky."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I'm a little disappointed with the number of reviews but thank you for those of you that did review and for my many followers! :) Seriously though, the more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to update :D Ready for the disclaimer? You lovely readers have earned it!**

 **Me: Piper! Go ahead.**

 **Leo: Wait, seriously? I get dropped just like that?!**

 **Piper: haha, she loves me more!**

 **Me: Just do the disclaimer. And Leo! You had your chance, go away and let Piper have a turn**

 **Leo: But it's MY job**

 **Piper: Okay then! MadiRose fangirl owns NOTHING (except the book she is currently writing on her own) oh and one more thing...**

 **(Charmspeak) *you WILL review and say nice things about this story because it takes a LOT of work to write. Okay? YOU WILL DO IT**

" _Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean Zeus. Lord of the Sky."_

Apparently, the rest of the camp wasn't so sure. Everything broke into chaos, with dozens of people asking questions until Annabeth raised her arms.

"Hold it!" she said. "How can he be the son of Zeus? The Big Three … their pact not to have mortal kids … how could we not have known about him sooner?"

Chiron didn't answer, but Alissa got the feeling he knew. And the truth was not good.

"The important thing," Rachel said, "is that Jason's here now. He has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy."

She closed her eyes and swooned. Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stool, like they'd been trained for this duty. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but green mist started swirling around Rachel's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient—the sound a snake would make if it could talk:

"Child of lightning, beware the earth, The giants' revenge the seven shall birth, The forge and dove shall break the cage, And death unleash through Hera's rage."

On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. They carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest.

"Is that normal?" Piper asked. Piper's voice rang out into the silence. She seemed uncomfortable with everyone's stares directed at her. "I mean… does she spew green smoke a lot?"

"Gods, you're dense!" Drew sneered. "She just issued a prophecy—Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you just—"

Drew," Annabeth snapped. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death… why would we free her? It might be a trap, or—or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."

Jason rose. "I don't have much choice. Jera took my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."

Nyssa stood up. "Maybe. But you should listen to Annabeth. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son—our dad—down a mountain just because he was ugly."

"Real ugly," snickered someone from Aphrodite. Alissa clenched her fists. No good, beauty pageant, primma donna brats.

"Shut up!" Nyssa growled. "Anyway, we've also got the thing—why beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"

No one answered, but Alissa noticed Annabeth and Chiron having a silent exchange. Alissa thought it went something like:

Annabeth: The giants' revenge… no, it can't be.

Chiron: Don't speak of it here. Don't scare them.

Annabeth: You're kidding me! We can't be that unlucky.

Chiron: Later, child. If you told them everything, they would be too terrified to proceed.

Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she announced, "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose any two companions."

Something told Alissa that however much she hated it—she had to be on the quest. It wasn't an option.

Someone from Hermes cabin yelled, "Well, you, obviously, Annabeth. You've got the most experience."

"No, Travis," Annabeth said. "First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later. Forget it. No way. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy.

"It's connected," Piper said suddenly. "You know that's true, don't you? This whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance—it's all connected."

"How?" demanded Drew. "If you're so smart, how?"

Piper looked lost for words.

Annabeth saved her. "You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end—by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."

"It says who I pick," Jason agreed. "The forge and dove shall break the cage. The forge is the symbol of Vul—Hephaestus."

Under the Cabin Nine banner, Nyssa's shoulders slumped, like she'd just been given a heavy anvil to carry. "If you have to beware the earth," she said, "you should avoid traveling overland. You'll need air transport."

 _Speak up. Speak up. You need to go on this quest._

"The flying chariot's broken," Nyssa continued, "and the pegasi, we're using them to search for Percy. But maybe Hephaestus cabin can help figure out something else to help. With Jake incapacitated, I'm senior camper. I can volunteer for the quest."

She didn't sound enthusiastic.

Then Leo stood up. He'd been so quiet, Alissa had almost forgotten he was there.

"It's me," he said.

His cabin mates stirred. Several tried to pull him back to his seat, but Leo resisted.

"No, it's me. I know it is. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!"

Jason studied him for a moment. Alissa was sure he was going to tell Leo no. Then he smiled. "We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in."

"Yes!" Leo pumped his fist.

"It'll be dangerous," Nyssa warned him. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive."

Alissa shuddered. And this was the quest she had to go on.

"Oh." Suddenly Leo didn't look so excited. Then he remember everyone was watching. "I mean… Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this." Alissa snickered.

Annabeth nodded. "Then, Jason, you only need to choose the third quest member. The dove—"

"Oh, absolutely!" Drew was on her feet and flashing Jason a smile. "The dove is Aphrodite. Everybody knows that. I am totally yours."

Then Piper stepped forward. "No."

Drew rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Dumpster girl. Back off."

"I had the vision of Hera; not you. I have to do this."

"Anyone can have a vision," Drew said. "You were just at the right place at the right time." She turned to Jason. "Look, fighting is all fine, I suppose. And people who build things …" She looked at Leo in disdain. "Well, I suppose someone has to get their hands dirty. But you need charm on your side. I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot."

Alissa's head felt dizzy and she found herself almost agreeing with Drew. _No! She's a jerk. Think for yourself, Alissa!_

The other campers started murmuring about how drew was pretty persuasive. Alissa could Drew winning the over. Even Chiron was scratching his beard, like Drew's participation suddenly made sense to him.

"Well…" Annabeth said. "Given the wording of the prophecy—"

"No!" Alissa's head snapped toward Piper. She found herself listening intently. "I'm supposed to go." Alissa nodded slowly. _Stop it! Stop it!_

Everyone else starting nodding as well, muttering that hmmm, Piper's point of view made sense too. Drew looked around, incredulous. Even some of her own campers were nodding.

"Get over it!" Drew snapped at the crowd. "What can Piper do?"

"Well," Drew said smugly when Piper didn't respond. "I guess that settles it."

Suddenly there was a collective gasp, including Alissa. Piper was being claimed.

"What?" Piper demanded and looked above her. She didn't have a symbol above her head like Leo. Her clothes had transformed by the power of Aphrodite.

She was adorned in a beautiful white sleeveless gown that went down to her ankles, with a V-neck so low it was totally embarrassing. Delicate gold armbands circled her biceps. An intricate necklace of amber, coral, and gold flowers glittered on her chest, and her hair …

"Oh, god," she said. "What's happened?"

A stunned Annabeth pointed at Piper's dagger, which was now oiled and gleaming, hanging at her side on a golden cord. Piper unsheathed the dagger and stared at her reflection.

"Beautiful," Jason exclaimed. "Piper, you… you're a knockout."

"No!" Drew cried, her face full of horror and revulsion. "Not possible!"

"This isn't me," Piper protested. "I—don't understand."

Chiron folded his front legs and bowed to her. Alissa and the rest of the campers followed suit.

"Hail, Piper McLean," Chiron announced gravely, as if he were speaking at her funeral. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."

After that, Alissa noticed Leo slip away. She thought about seeing where he was going but she had bigger problems. She had to get herself on a quest that would probably get her killed. She never wanted to participate in a quest. The war last summer had been horrible and had scarred her from fighting monsters. Of course—she's a demigod and doesn't have much say in the matter. She was saved though—sort of—when Rachel stood again.

Everyone was shocked—two prophecies in one night? Unheard of. But she began speaking in that strange tone again.

"Daytime's daughter, Snow's curse shall reap

Death by promises Fire cannot keep

The broken child stands strong at last

Unhindered by the pain of her past

When all else fails, her light will glow

Her triumph, none else shall know"

"Another prophecy?" one kid said with a shrill voice. Annabeth's mouth was agape in shock.

"Chiron? What does this mean?" Annabeth asked. "Another quest?"

Chiron looked thoughtful at that. "Perhaps an addition to the original quest is all that's needed."

"But that would make four! Quests are supposed to be three demigods."

"Yes, but Annabeth, when it comes to prophecies, rules can be changed. Daytime's daughter is obviously a child of Apollo."

Alissa swallowed a lump in her throat. "Me," she said as she stood. Everyone's eyes turned to her and she gulped. _Oh gods, please help me_.

"There are a great many children of Apollo. What make you think it's you?" one of her siblings asked.

"Alissa," Will spoke, "Are you sure?" He knew she hated quests and attention, yet there she was.

"I'm positive. Ever since this morning, when the new campers arrived, I've had the feeling that I'd have to take place in a quest. And now there is one about the broken daughter of Apollo." She turned to Will. "Who else could that be?"

He stared at her for a minute and nodded. "As head of Apollo cabin, I think it should be Alissa Rose Tenebrae." He used her full name for emphasis on formality.

"Okay," Chiron said after a minute of thinking. "Alissa will take place in this quest. Unless Jason has anything to say against it?"

"Another camper might be helpful," he agreed.

Instead of going to sleep that night, like she knew she should. Alissa found herself wandering around the forest. It was rather peaceful walk, until she heard the noise, that is. A tremor—the deep sort of rumbling you hear in your gut rather that your ears. Then a grinding snort, like steam forced out of a metal barrel.

For some reason, Alissa found herself running toward the noise rather than away from it. When she finally found it, she saw a large dragon—about sixty feet long, snout to tail— made of interlocking bronze plates. Its claws were the size of butcher knives, and its mouth was lined with hundreds of dagger-sharp metal teeth. Steam came out of its nostrils. It snarled like a chainsaw cutting through a tree.

"You don't have wings." Alissa heard a voice say. She looked around and saw Leo about fifty feet away from the dragon. Her heart skipped a beat. The dragon could easily bite Leo in half, or stomped him flat.

Alissa began walking around the dragon as quietly as she could, so that she'd be behind Leo. She didn't really want to startle him but she also didn't walk the dragon to kill her. She heard Leo talking to the dragon but didn't pay attention what he way saying. It seemed like he was talking about how cool it was.

"No!" Leo shouted suddenly. Alissa whipped around to make sure he wasn't being pulverized.

The dragon snarled.

"It's a trap, bronze brain," Leo said. "They're trying to catch you."

The dragon opened its mouth and blew fire. A column of white-hot flames billowed over Leo. Alissa screamed. She stared in shock, expecting to see a pile of ashes when the flames died. But when they did, Leo was perfectly fine.

He looked over to where she was standing, he obviously heard her scream.

"How the Hell are you alive?" she screamed. She was glad, of course, but that shouldn't be possible.

"Um… well, you see…" he said sheepishly.

"You—some Hephaestus have fire powers, every once in awhile. You—you're one of them?" Alissa's voice was weak.

"I'll explain later. I gotta make sure this dragon doesn't get caught."

He turned back to the dragon. "Stay, boy. Don't come any closer. I don't want you to get caught. See, they think you're broken and have to be scrapped but I don't believe that. I can fix you if you'll let me—"

The dragon creaked, roared, and charged. The trap sprang. The floor of the crater erupted with a sound like a thousand trash can lids banging together. Dirt and leaves flew, metal net flashing. Leo was knowing off his feet, turned upside down, and doused in Tabasco sauce and oil. He was sandwiched between the vat and the dragon as it thrashed, trying to free itself from the net that had wrapped around them both.

The dragon blew flames in every direction, lighting up the sky and setting trees on fire.

The flames washed over Alissa as she tried to run further away. She could feel her flesh burning as the fire consumed her. _What a horrible way to die..._

 ** _AN: Muhahaha... that's what you get for so few reviews... Who does the disclaimer next?_**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: You didn't think I'd leave you waiting for too long did you? I'm nice, see? You only had to wait a few hours. Y'all are lucky I had a bunch of free time today. Now, my reviewer didn't say anything about who they wanted to do the disclaimer so I'll pick...**

 **Me: and... Annabeth! You're up**

 **Annabeth: But it's not logical to do it this way! It takes more time and more energy is such a seaweed brain thing to do**

 **Percy: Wait a minute! I'm logical!**

 **Annabeth: Mmmhmm, sure you are**

 **Percy: I am! What do I do that's not logical**

 **Annabeth: You only eat blue food**

 **Percy: It's an inside joke with my mom!**

 **Annabeth: I know, I know. But you asked what isn't logical and that isn't! Let's not get into this now...**

 **Me: DO THE FREAKING DISCLAIMER, ANNABETH**

 **Annabeth: Jeez. Fine, I'll do the dam disclaimer :D**

 **Annabeth: MadiRoseFangirl does not own Percy or me. Nor does she own the other characters (Besides Alissa) or the world itself. All of this is owned by Rick Riordan and not a nerdy teenage girl.**

 **Me: Meanie! Oh well... I know I'm a nerd...**

 **Enjoy and please review ;)**

 _What a horrible way to die…_

"Alissa!" Leo screamed in anguish as he struggled to free himself… the dragon all but forgotten.

Pain… a burning pain is all that Alissa felt as the flames licked at her petite frame. Shouldn't she be dead by now? It was taking forever for the fire to finally end her life. Screams were ripped from her body against her will. Even during the Titan War she had never felt such pain, this was worse than anything ever inflicted on her. And for Alissa, that was saying a lot. Thanks to her stepfather, she had grown up knowing a lot about pain.

The burning sensation began fading slowly as she crumpled to the ground in agony. For a moment, she felt nothing, and Alissa wondered if she was dead. Then she heard the voice:

"No, no, no… Not again! Gods, I hate fire. Alissa, please wake up!" the anguished voice belonged to a certain Leo Valdez.

Alissa groaned and started to move. "Stupid dragon," she cursed.

She opened her eyes to see Leo watching her intently, a confused expression on his face.

"Wha—?" Leo said. "That was some seriously hot fire, how are you alive?"

"Do I look like I know?" Alissa moaned. "That hurt."

"I should think it would. How are you fire proof?"

"Dunno. I'm a child of Apollo, god of the sun. Maybe he hands out cool fireproof powers occasionally?"

"Hmm," Leo said.

"Go help your dragon, fire boy," Alissa said when she noticed the dragon tangled in the net.

Leo hesitated but obeyed when she raised an eyebrow at him. He ran to the dragon's head. It tried to snap at him, but its teeth were tangled in the mesh. It blew fire at Leo again, but seemed to running out of energy. This time the flames were only orange. They sputtered before they even reached Leo's face.

"Listen, man," Leo said, "you're just going to show them where you are. Then they'll come and break out the acid and the metal cutters. Is that what you want?"

Alissa smiled as Leo talked to the dragon.

The dragon's jaw made a creaking sound, like it was trying to talk.

"Okay, then," Leo said. "You'll have to trust me."

And Leo set to work. When Alissa finally felt good enough to stand, she went to help him.

It took them an hour to find the control panel. It was right behind the dragon's head, which made sense. They'd elected to keep the dragon in the net, because it was easier to work with the dragon constrained, but the dragon didn't like it.

"Hold still!" Leo scolded.

The dragon made another creaking sound that might've been a whimper.

Alissa watched as Leo examined the wires inside the dragon's head. She was distracted by a sound in the woods, but when she looked up it was just a dryad putting out the flames in her branches. Fortunately, the dragon hadn't started an all-out forest fire, but still the dryad wasn't too pleased. The girl's dress was smoking. She smothered the flames with a silky blanket, and when she saw Leo and Alissa looking at her, she made a gesture that was probably very rude in Dryad. Then she disappeared in a green poof of mist.

Leo turned back toward the wiring and looked at in awe. Alissa went to see what was so cool about the inside of the dragon's head, but didn't understand enough about technology to understand. It looked complicated though, which meant Leo probably loved it.

"Ha," Leo said. "Well, no wonder."

The dragon creaked.

"What's wrong with it?" Alissa asked.

"He's got a corroded control disk. Probably regulates its higher reasoning circuits." He addressed the dragon next. "Rusty brain, man. No wonder you're a little… confused."

Alissa was positive he was about to say crazy. She figured the dragon wouldn't take too well to being called insane.

"I wish I had a replacement disk, but… this is a complicated piece of circuity. I'm gonna have to take it out and clean it. Only be a minute." He pulled out the disk, and the dragon went absolutely still. The glow died in its eyes. Leo slid off its back and began polished the disk while Alissa watched. She wished she could help, but she didn't know anything about mechanical dragons.

Leo tried to work quickly. Alissa could tell—even with her incompetence concerning fixing things—that he couldn't fix it all the way. Once he'd done the best he could, he climbed back up to the dragon's head and started cleaning the wiring and gearboxes, getting himself filthy in the process.

"Clean hands, dirty equipment," he muttered.

"Can I help?" Alissa asked as she climbed onto the dragon's back.

Leo nodded and showed her how to clean the wiring.

By the time they were through, their hands were black with grease and their clothes looked like they'd just lost a mud-wrestling contest, but the mechanisms looked a lot better. Leo slipped in the disk, connected the last wire, and sparks flew. The dragon shuddered. Its eyes began to glow.

"Better?" Leo asked.

The dragon made a sound like a high-speed drill. It opened its mouth and all its teeth rotated.

"I guess that's a yes. Hold on, I'll free you."

Alissa joined him in finding the release clamps for the net. It took about thirty minutes to find them and untangle the dragon, but finally it stood and shook the last bit of netting off its back. It roared triumphantly and shot fire at the sky.

Alissa laughed.

"Seriously," Leo said. "Could you not show off?"

"He's happy," Alissa giggled.

Creak? The dragon asked.

"You need a name," Leo decided. "I'm calling you Festus."

"Festus," Alissa muttered. "Sounds kinda like festive!"

The dragon whirred its teeth and grinned. Or at least Alissa hoped it was a grin.

"Cool, "Leo said. "But we still have a problem, because you don't have wings."

"Too last minute to make some?" Alissa guessed.

"Very," Leo agreed.

Festus tilted his head and snorted steam. Then he lowered his back in an unmistakable gesture. He wanted them to climb on.

"Where are we going?" Leo asked.

They climbed onto the dragon's back, and Festus bounded off into the woods.

Alissa lost track of time and all sense of direction. It seemed impossible the woods could be so deep and wild, but the dragon traveled until the trees were like skyscrapers and the canopy of leaves completely blotted out the stars. The dragon's glowing red eyes acted like headlights in the dark. Alissa was sure she had never been this deep in the woods before.

Finally, they crossed a stream and came to a dead end, a limestone cliff a hundred feet tall—a solid, sheer mass the dragon couldn't possible climb.

Festus stopped at the base and lifted one leg like a dog pointing.

"What is it?" Leo slid to the ground. He walked up to the cliff—nothing but solid rock. The dragon kept pointing.

"It's not going to move out of your way," Alissa told the dragon as she too slid off his back.

The loose wire in the dragon's neck sparked, but otherwise he stayed still. Leo put his hand on the cliff. Alissa watched with interest and a little fear as his fingers smoldered. Lines of fire spread from his fingertips like ignited gunpowder, sizzling across the limestone. The burning lines raced across the cliff face until they had outlined a glowing red door five times as tall as Leo. Leo backed up and the door swung open, disturbingly silent for such a big slab of rock.

"Perfectly balanced," he muttered. "That's some first-rate engineering."

The dragon unfroze and marched inside, as if he were coming home.

Leo stepped through a moment after. Just as Alissa tentatively stepped through the door, the door began to close. Leo looked panicked for a moment but then the lights flickered on—a combination of electric fluorescents and wall-mounted torches.

"Festus," Alissa muttered. "What is this place?"

Leo's mouth was hanging wide open as he looked around.

The dragon stomped to the center of the room, leaving tracks in the thick dust, and curled up on a large circular platform.

The cave was the size of an airplane hangar, with endless worktables and storage cages, rows of garage-sized doors along either wall, and staircases that led up to a network of catwalks high above. Equipment was everywhere—hydraulic lifts, welding torches, hazard sits, air-spades, forklifts, plus something that looked suspiciously like a nuclear reaction chamber. Bulletin boards were covered with tattered, faded blueprints. And weapons, armor, shields—war supplies all over the place, a lot of them only partially finished.

Alissa shuddered with memories of war. She had only been twelve. She was only thirteen now, but the past year had made her grow up even faster than she had already been forced to grow.

Hanging from chains far above the dragon's platform was an old tattered banner almost too faded to read. The letter were Greek so Alissa could read the easily, despite her dyslexia: Bunker 9.

Did that mean nine as in Hephaestus cabin, or nine as in there were eight others? Alissa looked at Festus, still curled up on the platform, and it occurred to her that the dragon looked so content because it was home. It had probably been built on that pad.

"Do the other kids know…?" Leo's questions died as he asked it. It was obvious this place had been abandoned for decades. Cobwebs and dust covered everything. The floor revealed no footprints except for Alissa's, Leo's, and the huge paw prints of the dragon. They were the first ones in this bunker since… since a long time ago. Bunker 9 had been abandoned with a lot of projects half finished on the tables. Locked up and forgotten but why?

"1864," Alissa murmured. "That's when this was last used. See this map?" She gestured toward a map on the wall—a battle map of camp, but the paper was as cracked and yell as onionskin.

"No way," Leo muttered.

"Looks like you, Festus," Leo murmured. He was looking at blueprints for a flying ship, the masthead was that of a dragon.

Festus snorted like he was trying to get their attention, reminding them they didn't have all night. It was true. Alissa figured it would be morning in a few hours, and they'd gotten completely sidetracked. They'd saved the dragon but they still needed something that could fly for their quest.

Festus nudged something toward Leo—a leather tool belt that had been left next to his construction pad. Then the dragon switched on his glowing red eyes beams and turned them toward the ceiling. Alissa looked up to where the spotlights were pointing, and gasped as she recognized the shapes hanging above them in the darkness.

Leo yelped as he saw them. "Festus," he said in a small voice. "We've got work to do."

Alissa and Leo worked together all night to attach the wings to Festus' metallic body. It was hard work for someone who had no building talent whatsoever. But Leo said she did great.

 **AN: Did you really think I'd kill our main character this soon? Yeah, I thought not. I'm so "dam" predictable :'(**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry it's been so long. I've been REALLY busy. I hope you enjoy this chapter. PEACE OUT**

 **I do not own these characters (besides Alissa) or this world. All credit to Rick Riordan**

Alissa had crawled back to Apollo cabin sometime around five in the morning to take a shower and get a couple hours of sleep. After taking a thorough shower she collapsed on her bed to fall asleep. Alissa was thankful she hadn't woken any of her cabin members, then she would've had to explain that she spent the entire night fixing a mechanical dragon with the new Hephaestus kid. For once, Alissa's sleep was completely dreamless and she was able to rest for a long time.

"Alissa," a voice called, dragging Alissa from sleep.

She groaned and pulled her pillow over her head.

"Ali, you have to wake up. You're gonna want some breakfast before your quest." The voice belonged to Will.

"Wake me up in ten minutes," Alissa groaned.

"You normally wake up easily. How late did you stay up last night?" Will asked.

"Dunno."

"Please go eat breakfast."

After a couple more minutes of laying in bed, Alissa realized that she was hungry. She sat up and groaned at the bright sunlight that was pouring through the windows.

"Gods, why is it so bright in here?"

Alissa's body ached from all the physical work last night. She was used to an aching body, but that doesn't mean she enjoyed it.

She pulled on some clothes and began packing for the quest. Once she was packed, she headed to the dining pavilion for breakfast.

She plopped down on the bench next to one of her siblings but did not engage in conversation.

Right as she bit into a piece of sausage, Alissa heard screams.

Can't a girl eat her breakfast in peace? Alissa wondered. She sighed and and took her sausage outside with her so that she could eat it while she found out what was going on.

Of course. It was Leo freakin Valdez again. This time, he was riding the dragon that they had fixed last night. Alissa was happy to see it after all the effort it took to fix it, but at the same time, she became sad as she realized she probably wouldn't get any credit.

"It's cool! Don't shoot!" Leo yelled as the dragon set down right in the middle of the green.

Hesitantly, the archers lowered their bows. The warriors backed away, keeping their spears and swords ready. They made a loose wide ring around the metal monster. Other demigods hid behind their cabin door or peeped out the windows. Nobody seemed anxious to get close.

Despite the fact that she knew it was safe, Alissa couldn't blame them. The dragon was huge. It glistened in the morning sun like a living penny sculpture —different shades of copper and bronze— a sixty-foot-long serpent with steel talons and drill-bit-teeth and glowing ruby eyes. It had bat-shaped wings twice its length that unfurled like metallic sails, making a sound like coins cascading out of a slot machine every time they flapped.

"It's beautiful," Piper muttered. Alissa couldn't help but agree with her. Festus had taken a lot of work but he turned out great.

The other demigods stared at Piper like she was insane.

The dragon reared its head a shot a column of fire into the sky. Campers scrambled away and hefted their weapons, but Leo slid calmly off the dragon's back. He held up his hands like he was surrendering, except he still had that crazy grin on his face.

"People of Earth, I come in peace!" he shouted. He looked like he'd been rolling around in the campfire. His army coat and his face were smeared with soot. His hands were grease-stained, and he wore his new tool belt around his waist. His eyes were bloodshot. His curly hair was so oily it stuck up in porcupine wills, and he smelled strangely of Tabasco sauce. But he looked absolutely delighted.

It seemed he hadn't slept at all after she left. Alissa knew he still had stuff to do but was surprised it took this long.

"Festus is just saying hello!" Leo said.

"That thing is dangerous!" an Ares girl shouted, brandishing her spear. "Kill it now!"

"Stand down!" someone ordered.

To Alissa's surprise, it was the new kid, Jason. He pushed through the crowd, flanked by Annabeth and Nyssa.

Jason gazed up at the dragon and shook his head in amazement. "Leo, what have you done?"

"Found a ride!" Leo beamed. "You said I could go on the quest if I got you a ride. Well, I got you a class-A metallic flying bad boy! Festus can take us anywhere!"

"It—has wings. Where did you find them?"

Leo hesitated, obviously not wanting to mention bunker Nine.

"In… the woods," he said. "Repaired his circuits, too, mostly, so no more problems with him going haywire."

"Mostly?" Nyssa asked.

The dragon's head twitched. It tilted to one side and a stream of black liquid poured out o its ear, all over Leo.

"Just a few kinks to work out," Leo said.

"But how did you survive…?" Nyssa was still staring at the creature in awe. "I mean, the fire breath…"

"I'm quick," Leo said. "And lucky. Now, am I on this quest or what?"

Jason scratched his head. "You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, 'festus' means 'happy'? You want us to ride off to save to world on Happy the Dragon?"

The dragon twitched and shuddered and flapped his wings.

"That's a yes, bro!" Leo said. "Now, um, I'd really suggest we get going, guys. I already picked up some supplies in the —um, in the woods. And all these people with weapons are making Festus nervous."

Jason frowned. "But we haven't planned anything yet. We can't just—"

"Go," Annabeth said. She was the only one who didn't look nervous at all. Her expression was sad and wistful, like this reminded her of better times. "Jason, you've only got three days until the solstice now, and you should never keep a nervous dragon waiting. This is certainly a good omen. Go!"

Jason nodded. Then he smiled at Piper. "You ready, partner?"

"You bet," she said.

Jason nodded toward Alissa so she began making her way toward the group.

"You're coming?" Leo asked Alissa. "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah," Alissa grinned. "A whole prophecy, actually. Turns out I'm supposed to come."

"Cool. Let's go."

Flying on the dragon was both the most amazing experience, and the scariest experience ever, Alissa thought. The moment the dragon had lifted into the air, Alissa had instinctively grabbed Leo so she wouldn't fall off. She wasn't afraid of heights, unless the high place was moving, like the dragon. Once she realized what she had done, she immediately let go and blushed.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Up high, the air was freezing cold; but the dragon's metal hide generated so much heat, it was like they were flying in a protective bubble. Talk about seat warmers! And the grooves in the dragon's back were designed like high-tech saddles, so they weren't uncomfortable at all. Leo showed them how to hook their feet in the chinks of armor, like in stirrups, and use the leather safety harnesses cleverly concealed under the exterior plating. They sat single file: Leo in front, then Alissa, then Piper, and Jason.

Leo used the reins to steer the dragon into the sky like he'd been doing it all is life. The metal wings worked perfectly and soon the coast of Long Island was just a hazy line behind them. They shot over Connecticut and climbed into the gray winter clouds.

Leo grinned back at them. "Cool, right?"

Alissa nodded.

"What if we get spotted?" Piper asked.

"The Mist," Jason said. "It keeps mortals from seeing magic things. If they spot us, they'll probably mistake us for a small plane or something."

Piper glanced over her shoulder. "You sure about that?"

"No," he admitted.

"From what I've learned, the Mist should hide the dragon for us," Alissa confirmed.

"We're making good time. Probably get there by tonight," Jason said.

"Where are we heading?" Piper asked.

"To find the god of the North Wind," Jason said. "And chase some storm spirits."

"Oh fun," Alissa commented.

"Is this your first quest?" Piper asked.

"Besides anything done in the war, but I guess those don't count as quests," Alissa said.

It was quiet for a long time, giving Alissa time to think. She did not want to be on this quest at all. Why did she have to be involved in the prophecy? Hadn't she suffered enough? Alissa guessed the answer to that question for a demigod was always no. It was always one more war, one more quest, one more injury. Every time it was finally time to rest… another thing would happen. The joy of having a god for a parent. She wished more than anything that she wasn't a demigod. That she could live a normal life. Believe in other gods, maybe even the big G God. That would be nice. A God that doesn't force you to do their bidding, doesn't get you caught up in wars for his sake. But this was who she was stuck being, so she'd have to live with it.

"Shut up, me," Leo said suddenly.

"What?" Piper asked from behind Alissa.

"Nothing," he said. "Long night. I think I'm hallucinating. It's cool."

Everyone was silent for a moment. It was not good that their driver was sleepless and hallucinating.

"Just joking," Leo said after a second. Alissa knew that was a lie. "So what's the plan, bro? You said something about catching wind, or breaking wind, or something?"

As they flew over New England, Jason laid out the game plan: First, find some guy named Boreas and grill him for information—

"His name is Boreas?" Leo interrupted. "What is he, the god of Boring?"

Alissa face palmed.

Second, Jason continued, they had to find those venti that had attacked them at the Grand Canyon—

"Can we just call them storm spirits?" Leo asked. "Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."

"I swear, Leo…" Alissa groaned.

And third, Jason finished, they had to find out who the storm spirits worked for, so they could find Hera and free her.

"So you want to look for Dylan, the nasty storm dude, on purpose," Leo said. "They guy who threw me off the skywalk and sucked Coach Hedge into the clouds."

"Wait, what?" Alissa asked.

"Long story," Leo said.

"That's about it," Jason said. "Well… there may be a wolf involved, too. But I think she's friendly. She probably won't eat us, unless we show weakness."

Alissa gulped. Being weak was her specialty.

Jason told them about his dream—the big nasty mother wolf and a burned-out house with stone spires growing out of the swimming pool.

"Uh-huh," Leo said. "But you don't know where this place is."

"Nope," Jason admitted.

"There's also giants," Piper added. "The prophecy said the giants' revenge."

"Hold on," Leo said. "Giants—like more than one? Why can't it be just one giant who wants revenge?"

"I don't think so," Piper said. "I remember in some of the old Greek stories, there was something about an army of giants."

"Gaea's children," Alissa muttered, thinking to herself.

"What?" Piper asked.

"Nothing," Alissa said quickly.

"Great," Leo muttered. "Of course, with our luck, it's an army. So you know anything else about these giants? Didn't you do a bunch of myth research for that movie with your dad?"

"Your dad's an actor?" Jason asked.

Leo laughed. "I keep forgetting about your amnesia. Heh. Forgetting about amnesia. That's funny. But yeah, her dad's Tristan McLean."

"Oh, my mom loves that actor! My step dad doesn't like him though, but he doesn't anybody." Alissa mumbled the last part. Leo glanced back at her, obviously hearing the last part.

"Uh—Sorry, what was he in?" Jason asked.

"It doesn't matter," Piper said quickly. "The giants—well, there were lots of giants in Greek mythology. But if I'm thinking of the right ones, they were bad news. Huge, almost impossible to kill. They could throw mountains and stuff. I think they were related to the Titans. They rose from the earth after Kronos lost the war—I mean the first Titan war, thousands of years ago—and they tried to destroy Olympus. If we're talking about the same giants—"

"Chiron said it was happening again," Jason remembered. "The last chapter. That's what he meant. No wonder he didn't want us to know all the details."

Leo whistled. "So… giants who can throw mountains. Friendly wolves that will eat us if we show weakness. Evil espresso drinks. Gotcha. Maybe this isn't the time to bring up my psycho babysitter."

"Is that another joke?" Piper asked.

Leo told them about Tia Callida, who was really Hera, and how she's appeared to him at camp. He also told them about his mother dying. Apparently the machine shop where she worked collapsed. He stared straight ahead as he spoke, it was probably easier to speak that way. He told them about a strange woman in earthen robes who seemed to be asleep, and seemed to know the future.

Alissa estimated the whole state of Massachusetts passed below them before any of them spoke.

"That's… disturbing," Piper said.

Alissa was silent. She hurt for Leo and the loss of his mother. She knew what it was like to lose someone. Her mother was still alive physically. But in Alissa's heart, she had died long ago. She had died when she married Alissa's stepfather.

"Bout sums it up," Leo agreed. "Thing is, everybody says don't trust Hera. She hates demigods. And the prophecy said we'd cause death if we unleash her rage. So I'm wondering...why are we doing this?"

"She chose us," Jason said. "All of us. We're the first of the eight who have to gather for the Great Prophecy. This quest is the beginning of something much bigger."

"Besides," Jason continued, "helping Hera is the only way I can get back my memory. And that dark spire in my dream seemed to be feeding on Hera's energy. If that thing unleashes a king of the giants by destroying Hera—"

"Not a good trade-off," Piper agreed. "At least Hera is on our side—mostly. Losing her would throw the gods into chaos. She's the main one who keeps peace in the family. And a war with the giants could be even more destructive that the Titan War."

Alissa shuddered at the mention of the Titan War.

Jason nodded. "Chiron also talked about worse forces stirring on the solstice, with it being a good time for dark magic, and all—something that could awaken if Hera were sacrificed on that day. And this mistress who's controlling the storm spirits, the one who wants to kill all the demigods—"

"Might be that weird sleeping lady," Leo finished. "Dirt woman fully awake? Not something I want to see."

"But who is she?" Jason asked. "And what does she have to do with the giants?"

Good questions, but none of them had answers. They flew in silence for a while. Alissa could feel Leo shaking ever so slightly in front of her. She knew what he felt, he had just shared a lot with them.

Festus kept flying. The wind got colder, and below them snowy forests seemed to go on forever. Alissa knew that Leo hadn't slept at all last night and she was worried about him.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Alissa said in his ear. "You were up all night."

"You won't let me fall off?"

"Trust me, Valdez. You're not going anywhere." Alissa's heart ached as she watched his lean forward against the warm bronze of the dragon's neck. She had never been one for physical contact, but for once, she wished she could hug him.

That's stupid. Alissa told herself. Alissa didn't even know Leo and she was telling herself she wanted to hug him. That wasn't like her.

She watched Leo sleep for a long time—not in a creepy way, just because he was in front of her— she woke Leo when the daylight began to fade.

"We're here," she said, shaking Leo awake.

Below them, a city sat on a cliff overlooking a river. The plains around it were dusted with snow, but the city itself glowed warmly in the winter sunset. Buildings crowded together inside high walls like a medieval town. In the center was an actual castle—or at least Alissa assumed it was a castle—with massive red brick wall and a square tower with a peaked, green gabled roof.

"Tell me that's Quebec and not Santa's workshop," Leo said.

Alissa smiled slightly at that. Imagine that, Latino Santa's elf asking if they were at Santa's workshop.

"Yeah, Quebec City," Piper confirmed. "One of the oldest cities in North America. Founded around sixteen hundred or so?"

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Your dad do a movie about that too?"  
Piper made a face at him, which looked weird with her makeup. Alissa's stomach churned, watching the two bond. Thinking of it, she didn't have any close friends...nobody knew the real her…

"I read sometimes, okay? Just because Aphrodite claimed me, doesn't mean I have to be an airhead," Piper said.

"Feisty!" Leo said. "So you know so much, what's that castle?

"A hotel, I think."

Leo laughed. "No way."

As they got closer, Alissa saw that Piper was right. The grand entrance was bustling with doormen, valets, and porters taking bags. Sleek black luxury cars idled in the drive. People in elegant suits and winter cloaks hurried to get out of the cold.

Alissa's eyes widened. "Please tell me we're staying there. They've got valets like in Downton Abbey—"

"Heads up, guys," Jason interrupted. "We got company!"

Alissa looked below and saw what Jason meant. Rising from the top of the tower were two winged figures—angry angels, with nasty-looking swords.

Festus didn't like the angel guys. He swooped to a halt in midair, wings beating and talons bared, and made a rumbling sound in his throat that Alissa remembered from the night before. He was getting ready to blow fire.

"Steady, boy," Leo muttered.

"I don't like this," Jason said. "They look like storm spirits."

Alissa knew those weren't Venti, they were much more solid. They looked like regular teenagers except for their icy white hair and feathery purple wings. Their bronze swords were jagged, like icicles. Their faces looked similar enough that they might've been brothers, but they definitely weren't twins.

One was the size of an ox, with a bright red hockey jersey, baggy sweatpants, and black leather cleats. The guy clearly had been in too many fights, because both his eyes were black, and when he bared his teeth, several of them were missing.

The other guy looked like he'd just stepped off a 1980s rock album cover. His ice-white hair was long and feather into a mullet. He wore pointy-toed leather shoes, designer pants that were way too tight, and a god-awful silk shirt with the top three buttons open. Maybe he thought he looked like a groovy love god, but the guy couldn't have weighed more than ninety pounds, and he had a bad case of acne.

The angels pulled up in front of the dragon and hovered there, swords at the ready.

The hockey ox grunted. "No clearance."

"Scuse me?" Leo said.

"You have no flight plan on file," explained the groovy love god. "This is restricted airspace."

"Destroy them?" The ox showed off his gap-toothed grin.

The dragon began to hiss steam, ready to defend them. Jason summoned his golden sword, but Leo cried, "Hold on!"

"Let;s have some manners here, boys. Can I at least find out who has the honor of destroying me?"

"I am Cal!" the ox grunted. He looked very proud of himself, like he'd taken a long time to memorize that sentence.

"That's short for Calais," the love god said. "Sadly, my brother cannot say words with more than two syllables—"

"Pizza! Hockey! Destroy!" Cal offered.

"—which includes his own name," the love god finished.

"I am Cal," Cal repeated. "And this is Zethes! My brother!"

"Wow," Leo said. "That was almost three sentences, man! Way to go."

Cal grunted, obviously pleased with himself.

"Stupid buffoon," his brother grumbled. "They make fun of you. But no matter. I am Zethes, which is short for Zethes. And the ladies there—" He winked at Piper and Alissa, but the wink was more like a facial seizure. "She can call me anything she likes. Perhaps she would like to have dinner with a famous demigod before we must destroy you?"

Piper made a sound like gagging on a cough drop. "That's... A truly horrifying offer."

"I'm sure the other girl wants to," Zethes said staring at Alissa. Alissa visibly shuddered as he came closer to her.

"I'll pass," Alissa managed to say.

"It is no problem," Zethes wiggled his eyebrows. "We are very romantic people, we Boreads."

"Boreads?" Jason cut in. "Do you mean, like, the sons of Boreas?"  
"Ah, so you've heard of us!" Zethes looked pleased. He moved away from Alissa as he spoke, and Alissa took a relieved breath. "We are our father's gatekeepers. So you understand, we cannot have unauthorized people flying in his airspace of creaky dragons, scaring the silly mortal peoples."

He pointed below, and Alissa saw that the mortals were starting to take notice. Several were pointing up—not with alarm, yet—more with confusion and annoyance, like the dragon was a traffic helicopter flying too low.

"Which is sadly why, unless this is an emergency landing," Zethes said, brushing his hair out of his acne-covered face, "we will have to destroy you painfully."

"Destroy!" Cal agreed, with a little more enthusiasm than Alissa thought necessary.

"Wait!" Piper said. "This is an emergency landing."

"Awww!" Cal looked so disappointed, Alissa almost felt sorry for him.

Zethes studied Piper, which of course he'd already been doing after moving off of Alissa. "How does the pretty girl decide this is an emergency, then?"

"We have to see Boreas. It's totally urgent! Please?" She forced a smile. Alissa found herself believing every word. Jason was nodding, looking absolutely convinced, and Leo looked hypnotized also.

Zethes picked at his silk shirt, probably making sure it was still open wide enough. "Well… I hate to disappoint a lovely lady, but you see, my sister, she would have an avalanche if we allowed you—"

"And our dragon is malfunctioning!" Piper added. "It could crash any minute!"

Festus shuddered helpfully, then turned his head and spilling gunk out of his ear, splattering a black Mercedes in the parking lot below.

"No destroy?" Cal whimpered.

Zethes pondered the problem. Then he gave Piper another spasmodic wink. "Well, you are pretty. I mean, you're right. A malfunctioning dragon—this could be an emergency."

"Destroy them later?" Cal offered, which was probably as close to friendly as he ever got.

"It will take some explaining," Zethes decided. "Father has not been kind to visitors lately. But, yes. Come, faulty dragon people. Follow us."


End file.
